Keya’s mother said despite the news of charges being laid, her pain will never go away.

“When the trial starts, it’s still going to be there, and it’s still going to be there five years from now, and it’s still going to be there 10 years from now,” she said. “But the point is how you handle it.”

“You can’t shout and scream and you can’t jump for joy because it’s not all about that.”

A family photograph of Keya Simon.

File/Global News

Keya’s 32-year-old sister was also stabbed that night, but survived the attack.

Torina Simon said she couldn’t bring herself to go to court Thursday to see Beals and Downey.

“They’re running around for three and a half years, out there like they didn’t care, so for me to see them, it would have been too much,” she said.

She is planning to be in court next month for Beals’ preliminary hearing, which is set for Sept. 22, and said she’ll be ready by then to face him, even if it’s difficult for her.